30 June 2015 - Appointment Of New Chief Of Staff .

This morning the Government accepted the recommendation of the Minister for Defence Mr. Simon Coveney T.D. to nominate Rear Admiral (RAdm) Mark Mellett DSM* for appointment by the President as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

He will succeed the current Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Conor O'Boyle when he retires in September this year.

Minister Coveney TD said "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rear Admiral Mellett on his new appointment and I look forward to working closely with him in the future".

Rear Admiral Mark Mellett DSM was appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) of the Defence Forces in November 2013.

From Mayo, he joined the Naval Service in 1976. He commanded the LÉ ORLA in 1992, the LÉ CIARA in 1997 and the Irish Naval Service Flagship the LÉ EITHNE in 2005. Rear Admiral Mellett DSM has held a broad range of appointments in Naval Headquarters and prior to his appointment as Flag Officer in 2010 was Officer Commanding Naval Operations Command. Rear Admiral Mellett DSM was also Commandant of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland.

*Aside from citations for overseas service in Afghanistan (2004) and Lebanon (1989), as Captain of LÉ ORLA in 1994 he was honoured with the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in recognition of his role in the detention of the drug smuggling yacht 'Brime' in 1993.

A founding member of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster (IMERC) and a member of its Governing Authority, serving as a stimulant for enterprise, job creation and innovation in the maritime sphere, Rear Admiral Mellett has a PHD (2009) in Political Science from the National University of Ireland Galway and has been a Visiting Professor at Liverpool Hope University. He is a distinguished top graduate of the US Naval War College, the Irish Command and Staff College and the Royal Naval College Greenwich.

He is a former member of the prestigious Naval Service Diving Section and enjoys running, cycling and fitness. He is married to Liz and has four children, Laura, Sean, Lisa and Patrick.